The current scoping study conducted in Greece aimed to explore the training needs and attitudes held by educationalists on inclusive education for pupils with autism. Whilst educational policies and practice advocate for inclusive education for children with autism, actual provision is segregated between mainstream, special schools and multi-disciplinary therapy centers. These centers operate under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and are certified by the Ministry of Education. They collaborate with schools to ensure the seamless inclusion of children with autism into school. Whilst Greek educationalists believe on principle that inclusion is essential in the quest to foster community presence and integration for children with autism, in practice there are barriers to inclusive education; primarily these include the current financial crisis and budget cuts in Education as well as an anxiety on the part of teachers on how best to practice inclusive education, whilst protecting and maintaining the safety of autistic children. This ambivalence stems from insufficient knowledge, skills and experience and has significant implications for children with special needs, their families and for society as a whole. The current study aimed to address this ambivalence by, as an initial step, ensuring that all teachers are granted appropriate training and professional support so that children with autism are given the opportunity to flourish within inclusive educational settings.
Published in | International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 10, Issue 1) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11 |
Page(s) | 1-15 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Training Needs of Greek Teachers, Good Autism Education Practice, Attitudes of Greek Teachers, Inclusive Education
[1] | Padeliadou, S. (2007). Social inclusion in school and transition into the work place for people on the autism spectrum: theoretical issues and educational interventions. Thessaloniki: Grafima [in Greek]. |
[2] | Stasinos, D. (2001). Special education in Greece. Perceptions, institutions and practices: State and private initiative (1906-1989). Athens: Gutenberg [in Greek]. |
[3] | Lampropoulou, V., and S. Padeliadou. (1995). Inclusive education: The Greek experience. In Inclusive education in Europe: Critical perspectives, edited by C. O’Hanlon, 49-60. London: David Fulton. |
[4] | Zoniou-Sideri, A., P. Karagianni, E. Deropoulou-Derou, and I. Spandagou. (2005). Inclusive classes in Greece: new games, old institutions. Paper presented at the Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress (ISEC), August 1-4, Glasgow. Accessed 26 April 2020. http://www.isec2005.org.uk/isec/abstracts/papers_z/zoniou-Sideri_a.shtml |
[5] | Greek Official Governmental Gazette. Law 1566 30/9/1985 167 [in Greek] |
[6] | Padeliadou, S. (2005). School inclusion and ableism in education. In P. Agelides Inclusive Education: From the margins to inclusion. 107-122. Lefkosia: Kyproepeia [in Greek]. |
[7] | Kalyva, E. (2010). Special Education: What do Greek Teachers Know about Learning Disabilities, Autism, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? In International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. edited by J. H. Stone, and M. Blouin, Accessed 26 April 2020 http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/263/ |
[8] | Papadoulis, K. (2006). Clientelism, corruption and patronage in Greece: a public administration approach. Teaching Public Administration 26 (1): 13-24. doi: 10.1177/014473940602600102. |
[9] | Gena, A. (2001). Inclusion programme of children with autism into preschool and 1st grade on the basis of normative data. Psychology, 8 (1): 221-248 [in Greek]. |
[10] | Syriopoulou-Delli, CK. (2010). A historical review of educational policy in Greece for children with pervasive developmental disorders, behavioral difficulties and other special educational needs. Review of European Studies, 2 (1): 2-14. doi: 10.5539/res.v2n1p2. |
[11] | Greek Official Governmental Gazette. Law 2817 14/3/2000 78 [in Greek]. |
[12] | Padeliadou, S. (2001). The presence of individuals with special needs in the educational process: Exclusion or inclusion? Research into Greek education. K.E.E/Centre of Educational Research. Accessed 26 April 2020. http://www.kee.gr/html/researchfull.php?&ID=5&topicID=29 [in Greek]. |
[13] | Stefa, A. (2001). Practices of inclusion and integration in mainstream schools: A critical approach. Topics in Special Education, 15 (1): 70–74. |
[14] | Stampoltzis, A., V. Papatrecha, S. Polychronopoulou, and D. Mavronas. 2012. Developmental, familial and educational characteristics of a sample of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Greece. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6 (4): 1297-1303. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd2012.05.004. |
[15] | Mavropoulou, S. (2003). Analytical Curriculum for pupils with autism. Athens: Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs, Pedagogical Institute, Department of Special Education. |
[16] | Stephenson, J., and A. Adams. (2016). The social communication experience of children with autism in mainstream school. Good Autism Practice, 17 (2): 43-54. |
[17] | Avramidis, E., and E. Kalyva. (2007). The influence of teaching experience and professional development on Greek teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22 (4): 367–389. doi: 10.1080/08856250701649989. |
[18] | Symeonidou, S. (2009). Trapped in our past: The price we have to pay for our cultural disability inheritance. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13 (6): 565-579. doi: 10.1080/13603110801972069. |
[19] | Padeliadou, S., and V. Lampropoulou. (1997). Attitudes of special and regular teachers towards school integration. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 12 (3): 173-183. doi: 10.1080/0885625970120301. |
[20] | Padeliadou, S. (1995). The placement of children with special educational needs in mainstream classes: a research approach. Current Education: 3 month Inspection of Educational Issues, no. 82/83: 90-96 [in Greek]. |
[21] | Syriopoulou-Delli, C. K., D. C. Cassimos, G. I. Tripsianis, and S. A. Polychronopoulou, (2012). Teachers' perceptions regarding the management of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42 (5): 755-68. doi: 10.1007/s10803-011-1309-7. |
[22] | Mavropoulou, S., and S. Padeliadou. (2000). Greek teachers’ perceptions of autism and implications for educational practice. Autism, 4 (2): 173-183. doi: 10.1177/1362361300004002005. |
[23] | Harris, S. L, and J. S. Handleman. (1997). Helping children with autism enter the mainstream. In Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, 2nd ed., edited by D. J. Cohen, and F. R. Cohen, 665-675. New York: Wiley. |
[24] | Hall, K. (2001). Asperger Syndrome, the universe and everything: Kenneth’s Book. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. |
[25] | Lawson, W. (2000). Life behind glass. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. |
[26] | Williams, Donna. (2006). Nobody nowhere: The remarkable autobiography of an autistic girl. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. |
[27] | Guldberg, K., A. Achtypi, L. D’Alonzo, K. Laskaridou, D. Milton, P. Molteni, and R. Wood. (2019). Using the value creation framework to capture knowledge co-creation and pathways to impact in a transnational community of practice in autism education. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, doi: 10.1080/1743727X.2019.1706466. |
[28] | Avramidis, E., P. Bayliss, and R. Burden. (2000). A survey into mainstream teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of children with special educational needs in the ordinary school in one local education authority. Educational Psychology, 20 (2): 191-121. doi: 10.1080/713663717. |
[29] | Zoniou-Sideri, A., and A. Vlachou. (2006). Greek teachers' belief systems about disability and inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 10 (4-5): 379–394. doi: 10.1080/13603110500430690. |
[30] | Howlin, P. (2009). Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome: A Guide for Practitioners and Carers. Chichester: Wiley. |
[31] | Konstantinidis, E. I., M. Hitoglou-Antoniadou, A. P. Luneski, D. Bamidis, and M. Nikolaiodu. (2009). Using affective avatars and rich multimedia content for education of children with autism. In Petra ’09: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Pervasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments. Workshop on AHETA: Assistive Healthcare & Educational Technologies for Special Target Groups. Corfu Greece. June 9-13, 2009, No. 58 (1-6). New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery. doi: 10.1145/1579114.1579172. |
[32] | Reed, P. (2016). Interventions for autism: evidence for educational and clinical practice. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. |
[33] | Parsons, S., K. Guldberg, A. Macleod, G. Jones, A. Prunty, and T. Balfe. (2011). International review of the evidence on best practice in educational provision for children on the autism spectrum. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 26 (1): 47-63. doi: 10.1080/08856257.2011.543532. |
[34] | Jordan, R. (2005). Managing autism and Asperger's syndrome in current educational provision. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 8 (2): 104-112. doi: 10.1080/13638490500054891. |
[35] | Segall, M. J., and J. M. Campbell. (2012). Factors relating to education professionals’ classroom practices for the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6 (3): 1156-1167. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2012.02.007. |
[36] | Reddy, G. L. (2008). Special education teachers: Occupational stress, professional burnout and job satisfaction. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. |
[37] | Kofidou, C., C. Mantzikos, G. Chatzitheodorou, N. Kyparissos, and A. Karali. (2017). Perceptions and attitudes of educationalists on inclusive education of pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): a bibliographical review. Discourses! Theory and Practice in the Sciences of Treatment and Education, 3, 35-68. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/dial.11965 [in Greek]. |
[38] | Tsakiridou, H., and K. Polyzopoulou. (2014). Greek Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Students with Special Educational Needs. American Journal of Educational Research, 2 (4): 208-218. doi: 10.12691/education-2-4-6. |
[39] | Leyser, Y., and K. Tappendorf. (2001). Are attitudes and practices regarding mainstreaming changing? A case of teachers in two rural school districts. Education, 121 (4): 751-761. |
[40] | Milton, D. (2014). So what exactly are autism interventions intervening with? Good Autism Practice, 15 (2): 6-14. |
[41] | Wood, R. (2019). Inclusive Education for autistic children: Helping children and young people to learn and flourish in the classroom. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. |
APA Style
Katingo Giannoulis, Marios Koukounaras Liagkis, Katerina Laskaridou, Karen Guldberg. (2021). Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum. International Journal of Elementary Education, 10(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11
ACS Style
Katingo Giannoulis; Marios Koukounaras Liagkis; Katerina Laskaridou; Karen Guldberg. Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2021, 10(1), 1-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11
AMA Style
Katingo Giannoulis, Marios Koukounaras Liagkis, Katerina Laskaridou, Karen Guldberg. Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Int J Elem Educ. 2021;10(1):1-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11
@article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11, author = {Katingo Giannoulis and Marios Koukounaras Liagkis and Katerina Laskaridou and Karen Guldberg}, title = {Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum}, journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education}, volume = {10}, number = {1}, pages = {1-15}, doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20211001.11}, abstract = {The current scoping study conducted in Greece aimed to explore the training needs and attitudes held by educationalists on inclusive education for pupils with autism. Whilst educational policies and practice advocate for inclusive education for children with autism, actual provision is segregated between mainstream, special schools and multi-disciplinary therapy centers. These centers operate under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and are certified by the Ministry of Education. They collaborate with schools to ensure the seamless inclusion of children with autism into school. Whilst Greek educationalists believe on principle that inclusion is essential in the quest to foster community presence and integration for children with autism, in practice there are barriers to inclusive education; primarily these include the current financial crisis and budget cuts in Education as well as an anxiety on the part of teachers on how best to practice inclusive education, whilst protecting and maintaining the safety of autistic children. This ambivalence stems from insufficient knowledge, skills and experience and has significant implications for children with special needs, their families and for society as a whole. The current study aimed to address this ambivalence by, as an initial step, ensuring that all teachers are granted appropriate training and professional support so that children with autism are given the opportunity to flourish within inclusive educational settings.}, year = {2021} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Training Needs and Attitudes of Greek Educationalists on Good Autism Education Practice for Children on the Autism Spectrum AU - Katingo Giannoulis AU - Marios Koukounaras Liagkis AU - Katerina Laskaridou AU - Karen Guldberg Y1 - 2021/03/04 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11 T2 - International Journal of Elementary Education JF - International Journal of Elementary Education JO - International Journal of Elementary Education SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7640 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20211001.11 AB - The current scoping study conducted in Greece aimed to explore the training needs and attitudes held by educationalists on inclusive education for pupils with autism. Whilst educational policies and practice advocate for inclusive education for children with autism, actual provision is segregated between mainstream, special schools and multi-disciplinary therapy centers. These centers operate under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and are certified by the Ministry of Education. They collaborate with schools to ensure the seamless inclusion of children with autism into school. Whilst Greek educationalists believe on principle that inclusion is essential in the quest to foster community presence and integration for children with autism, in practice there are barriers to inclusive education; primarily these include the current financial crisis and budget cuts in Education as well as an anxiety on the part of teachers on how best to practice inclusive education, whilst protecting and maintaining the safety of autistic children. This ambivalence stems from insufficient knowledge, skills and experience and has significant implications for children with special needs, their families and for society as a whole. The current study aimed to address this ambivalence by, as an initial step, ensuring that all teachers are granted appropriate training and professional support so that children with autism are given the opportunity to flourish within inclusive educational settings. VL - 10 IS - 1 ER -